Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. Cuts Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 34.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,409 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,432 shares during the quarter. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $590,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 73.3% during the 1st quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the second quarter worth about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.85.

MetLife Price Performance

MET stock traded up $0.56 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $70.41. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,249,353 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,362,657. The company has a 50 day moving average of $71.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $71.24. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $57.91 and a 12 month high of $79.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.11.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $17.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.57 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 21.41%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.94 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.62 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th will be given a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. MetLife’s payout ratio is 74.91%.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife Profile

MetLife, Inc, a financial services company, provides insurance, annuities, employee benefits, and asset management services worldwide. It operates through six segments: Retirement and Income Solutions; Group Benefits; Asia; Latin America; Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and MetLife Holdings. The company offers life, dental, group short-and long-term disability, individual disability, pet insurance, accidental death and dismemberment, vision, and accident and health coverages, as well as prepaid legal plans; administrative services-only arrangements to employers; and general and separate account, and synthetic guaranteed interest contracts, as well as private floating rate funding agreements.